On Friday the 4th of Feb the wettest day of the year the Transition Year students braved gale force winds on the long trip to Knock.
We were going to Knock Youth Ministry on our class retreat. We didn’t know what to expect yet we were very excited, some of us feared we’d be in mass all day or praying in silence, but we were pleasantly surprised.
We were taken on a guided tour of Knock Shrine to see the actual site of the Apparition and heard details of the events around the evening it took place. We visited Knock Museum where we took a step back in time and saw how our counterparts lived at the time of Apparition in 1879 and saw artefacts and accounts from the witnesses of the Apparition.
We also met with people from the Cenacolo community. Cenacolo is a centre for young recovering drug addicts who are overcoming their difficulties through sharing in a community of faith. The young people shared their story of how they fell into the drug trap and how faith has been an important part of their recovery.
We ended the day with a time of reflection and prayer. A silent space was created where we could experience God with the aid of meditation and music. It took us four hours to come home but we all agree that it was a very worthwhile and enlightening experience.